Railway car trucks



March 31, 1959 Filed March 15, 1956 c. EKSERGIAN RAILWAY cm 'mucxs 4 Sheets-Sheet A YINVENTOR Carolus LEKsergian W gill/mm ATTORNEY FIG?! c. EKSERGIAN RAILWAY qAR TRUCKS March 31, 1959 4 Sheets-Sheet '2- Filed March 15, 1956 INVENTOR Corolus L. Eksergmn W'" R. m

ATTORNEY March 31, 1959 CIEKSERGIAN v 1 RAILWAY CAR TRUCKS Filed March 15, 1956 4 Sheets-Sheet s INVENTOR Carolus L. Eksel qian ATTORNEY March 31, 1959 EKSERGI AN 2,879,718 I RAILWAY CAR TRUCKS Filed March 15, 1956 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 HINT IMIIML INVENTOR Cafolus Likserqicm BYW We W ATTORNEY United States Patent 2,879,718 I RAILWAY CAR TRUCKS Carolus L. Eksergiau, Media, Pa., assignor to The Budd Company, Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application March 15, 1956, Serial No. 571,666

3 Claims. (Cl. 105-185) This invention relates to railway car trucks and has for an object the provision of improvements in this art.

One of the particular objects of the invention is to provide a truck formed of few and simple parts which will furnish a ride surpassing that provided by trucks which are much more complex in construction.

Another object is to provide side frames which are free to move in a vertical plane but which do not twist in the connections between them in a horizontal plane .and hence maintain a right-angle relationship with the axles and do not take an oblong parallelogram form.

Another object is to provide a truck which comprises only two frame elements-an articulated side frame asthe shear when the side frame elements and axles tend to take an oblong parallelogram shape, but which provide for rocking movement of the side frame elements in a vertical plane. The joints are also adequate to take the loadings imposed by placing the springs at a distance transversely from the wheels.

Another object is to provide rigid connection between transom and side frame opposite the respective yieldable ends, which rigid connection takes shear and horizontal bending incident to preventing parallelogramming of the frame, also shear and transverse bending incident to lateral reactions between car body and truck ,frame, and also shear and vertical bending incident to offset of outboard springs.

The purpose of preventing parallelogramming or maintaining right-angle relationship between axles and truck longitudinal center line is to inhibit the steering tendencies of the axle brought about by mismatching rolling radii incident to instantaneous lateral position on rail head of the axle-connected mating wheel conical treads. Such steering action is conductive to the phenomenon known as nosing, and by maintaining tram nosing is inhibited.

Another object is to place the body support and springs at a high elevation and spaced far apart to increase resistance to roll.

Another and important object is to provide a vertically ice fixed frame base with respect to the rail head which makes possible taking the lateral reactions of the car body at any predetermined elevation desired; accomplished by providing sufficient height to vertical element of side frame to take the lateral loadconnection between body and frame at the desired elevation. By making possible such choice of elevation, the rolling moment of the caras determined by the height of its C.G. above the lateral connector-can be varied to suit, so that the optimum may be arrived at between minimum roll on .the one hand and minimum lateral disturbance occasioned by dissimilar vertical movement of the truck side on the other hand.

Another object is to provide necessary lateral load connectionas may be accomplished with lateral linkswhich, while taking the lateral reactions of the car body, will not restrict its vertical movement.

Another object is to provide in said lateral connector the desired degree of lateral resiliency in order to properly cushion lateral reactions to the car bodyas may be accomplished with asteel or air spring with properly damped action provided by suitable shock absorber.

Another object is to provide a truck having offset T- shaped side frames in which the transverse transoms are located near the axles for greatest strength against the truck frame taking an oblong shape.

Another object is to provide a truck having offset T-shaped side frames to which the transverse transoms are connected near the axles in order that they can support the brake operating mechanism most advantageously and at the same time take the brake torque and also maintain necessary alignment between shoe and diskwith respect to both relative face alignment as well as concentricity.

Another object is to carry the vertical load of the car body on pads or bearers which are well spaced laterally and longitudinally about the bolster center; the bolster center pin serving purely to locate the truck with respect to the car body longitudinally and transversely and at the same time permit truck turning about this point. The gain of such wide-spaced bearers is three-fold:

(a) Reduction in weight and size of truck bolster and car bolster.

(b) Deliberate increase in resistance to truck turning occasioned by a larger turning arm; this resistance being the optimum between that for restricting nosing tendencies, on the one hand, and freedom of wheel flanges to navigate curves, on the other hand. With the larger turning arm, required resistance is obtained by selection of a pad material possessing necessary friction.

(c) By spacing the pads longitudinally as well as transversely, oscillation of the frame about the transverse axis is prevented so that pitching and the attending longitudinal disturbance inherent with the conventional equalizer truck is prevented; thereby capitalizing on one of of the fundamentalpotential virtues of the singlespring system type of truck.

Another object is to provide a resilient journal box mounting which will provide necessary twist of the side frame in a vertical plane about a transverse axis and also about a longitudinal axis but which will resist movement between the axle and side frame along the axis of the axle and also will resist twist of the frame about a vertical axis.

The above and other objects and advantages of the invention. will be apparent from the following description of an exemplary embodimenhreference being made to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a truck embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation taken on the line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a vertical longitudinal section taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. l;

Fig. 4 is a vertical transverse section taken on the line 4'4-of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged partial vertical transverse section taken on the line 55 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged partial vertical transverse section taken on the line 6'--6 of Fig. 1; and. r

Fig. 7 is a plan view of thetruck frame alone, some parts being shown in section.

As shown in the drawings, the truck'comprises awheelq axle unit 10, including wheels 11, axle 12 and journal boxes 13 mounted in the-side frameelements or wheel pieces 14 of the truck frame.

The elements 14 comprise part of side frame members 15 which are in general in the shape of the capital letter T but with the stern offset toward one end of the top bar. This may be characterized as an off-center T. The transverse element or stem formsa transom 16 which is located near one of the two axles of the truck. The transverse elements are generally of Y-shape with the fork of'the Y formed integrally with or welded to the side frame proper and a side andstem of the Y forming the transom, as mentioned. The side members are identical, or substantially identical, so as to be interchangeable and are assembled together in reversed fashion so that there is a transom disposed near each axle. edge of the transom which faces the axle is parallel thereto.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 5, the side frame members 15 are secured together at two diagonally opposite joints 29, the end of the transom of one member being connected to the side element or wheel piece of the other. The transverse location of these frame joints relative to the side frame, inboard or outboard or in the plane of, will vary with the design details and are here shown in an inboard location. The joint comprises a shaft pro jection 21 on the transom which is embraced by a housing projection 22 on the side element. A retainer member 23 is secured on the shaft projection 21 by a nut 24, the member 23 having a platelike facing member which is secured to the housing projection 22 by bolts and nutsor set screws 25. A resilient element or unit 26 is interposed between the projection 23 and the interior of an inner tubular projection 27 on the retainer member. The resilient element or unit 26 is. formed as an annular sandwich with a rubberlike center sleeve 28 bonded to an outer metal liner 29, which is force-fitted in the inner projection 27, and to an inner metal liner 30 which is clamped against a shoulder on the shaft projection 21 by the nut 24. This resilient unit provides torque andv axial resistance while permitting limited turning and twisting movements. One such resilient unit is known commercially as silent blo'c.

Such connections provide for turning movement of the side frame elements in a vertical plane about a horizontal transverse axis. When the side frame element on one side turns, it imposes twist'in both joints against the resilient liner. It also changes the elevation of the end of the transom of the other side frame and thus tends to tilt the other side. frame'about" a longitudinal axis while its own transom element tends'to' tilt the other side frame inthe opposite-direction. The' resilient units in the joints accommodate all these movements. At the same time the connections resist all twisting movement ofthe'frame in a horizontal plane.

The

There is' twisting movement between the side frames and axles in the vertical planes of the axles. To accommodate this movement with resilient resistance while fully opposing twist in the horizontal plane, the connections between the journal boxes 13 and the side frame elements 14 comprise longitudinal stub shafts 36 on the journal boxes which are carried in longitudinal resilient torque units provided on the side frames. These resilient units are annular sandwiches of the silent-bloc" type and comprise a rubberlike annulus 37 tight on the shaft or bonded thereto, and an outer liner 40 bonded to the rubber annulus 37 and clamped in a longitudinal tubular element 41 carried by the side'frame.

The underframing, thus formed of two articulated T- shaped side frames and resiliently mounted axle units, is free to Weave to. any extent required but almost com pletely inhibits twistin a horizontal plane. A slight resiliency against shock entailed by a tendency to twist in a horizontal plane is provided by the connections 20 between the T-shaped frames and the connections-35 between the side frames and the axle journal boxes.

A bolster 45 is supported on springs 46 carried on seats 47 formed on the side frame members 15. Herein there are two springs on each side, that is, at the two ends of the bolster, and these springs comprise the only spring system of the truck. The bolster has side bearers 48 which support the car body 49 (shown in broken lines) by pads 50 near the outer sides of the car. The bolster turns about a center plate 51 and king post 52 carried by the center sill 53 of the car.

The vertical load on the center plate is small and the king post and center plate connection serves largely for a turning point for the bolster beneath the car and for taking shear loadings in a horizontal plane. The main vertical loading is taken through the side bearers and springs directly into the side frames and wheel journals. The high outboard location of the side bearers and springs minimizes roll of the car body.

Transverse movement between the bolster and side frames is damped by stay rod and shock absorber units 55 secured between brackets 56 and 57 provided on the transoms 16 and bolster 45, respectively, rubberlike doughnuts 58 being interposed to provide restrained swinging movement of the shock absorbers relative to the brackets in all directions. These stay rods will be located at such height and at such inclination as the general design requirements dictate.

Vertical movement between the bolster and side frames is damped by stay rod and shock absorber units 60 secured between brackets 61 and 62 on the side frame elements 14 and the bolster 45, respectively, rubberlike doughnuts 63 being interposed to provide restrained swinging movement of the shock absorbers.

Longitudinal movement between the bolster and side frames is restrained by stay rods 65 secured between brackets 66 and 67 on the side frame elements 14 and the bolster 45, respectively, rubberlike doughnuts 68 being interposed to provide restrained swinging movement of the stay bars.

Transverse movement between the bolster and side frames is limited by resilient bumpers 70 carried by the bolster which are adapted to engage pads 71 provided on the side frame elements 14.

Brakes of the disk type are provided for the truck, the braking means comprising disks 75 carried by the wheels and braking units 76 carried on brackets 77 secured to the transoms 16;

The braking units comprise shoe mountings 78 carrieclv on brake levers 79 which are pivoted on axes 80 carried by a frame 81 secured to the brackets 77, the leversbeing operated by'power units 82 mounted on'pivots 83 at the outer ends of the levers. Stops 84 are provided for the levers 79 to limit the outward movement of the brake shoes away'from the brake disks. With this mounting the brake shoes follow almost completely plane. This is true because the transoms are almost the same length as the axles, have their adjacent faces approximately parallel, and because there is substantially no vertical movement between the axle journal bearings and the side frames, such out-of-plane movement as may exist between brake shoe faces and disk faces being taken by the yieldable backing provided for the shoes (see Patents 2,451,326 and 2,451,329, for example).

It is thus seen that the truck provides, with a singlespring system of support, practically all of the functions and advantages of trucks using more complex structure and spring systems; that a simple frame comprising two mating ofiset-T frame members is provided; that the cross transoms of the T-shaped side frame members are used as supports for brake mechanism; that the frame is very strong against twisting or parallelogramming in a horizontal plane while allowing all necessary weave to accommodate track irregularities; and that an unusually wide and high spring base is provided, thus minimizing roll.

Because the cross transom takes the vertical bending load introduced by the couple resulting from locating the bolster spring outboard, the truck per se imposes no limitation on spring base, the spread being restricted only by right-of-way clearance. The transom also takes the lateral bending load. By making the cross transom integral with the wheel piece on one side, the entire brake torque from one axle is taken through one transom and one wheel piece without locking the other Wheel piece and thereby restricting its ability to see-saw.

Since the bolster spring rides on top of the Wheel pieceand therefore is relatively high-and since the clearance line at this elevation sweeps outward, it follows that by virtue of the relatively high position of the bolster spring foot, a wider than normal spring base can be effected, with attending improvement in roll resistance.

The entire truck can be quickly and easily disassembled. The two-part frame can be taken apart by removing two nuts at the flexible joints between them; the brake mechanisms are carried on top of the transoms and can be removed by taking out a few bolts; and the bolster and springs rest on top of their supports where they can be readily taken off.

The vertical load on the truck bolster is carried on two side bearers instead of at the center plate, as in conventional constructions, the center plate in the present construction serving purely as a shear connection for longitudinal and transverse loadings. Thus redundancy which now exists with the standard bolster, with respect to proportionality of load carried between center plate and conventional side bearers, no longer exists and turning resistance can be predetermined. The load-carrying side bearers now become, in effect, an extended center plate, lying outboard of the usual center plate location but inboard of the usual side bearer location.

The arrangement of anchor rods and bolster, connecting the bolster and wheel pieces, is of advantage in permitting the center plate to move laterally with respect to the truck, this condition resulting from the lateral or transverse movement of the bolster with respect to the truck frame in turning. Consequently, the lateral movement does not produce longitudinal lunge on either car or truck. The anchor rod installation illustrated herein shows the rods for both sides to be located at the same end of the truck. The side frames therefore lack full correspondence to each other only in their connection brackets. Where the rods are oppositely located or where four rods are used, the side frames will be identical.

Aside from simplicity and reduction in cost and weight, an outstanding advantage of the present truck in taking part of the laterals through the bolster spring lies in the fact that the lateral reactions on the bolster occur at spring perch height, the distance below the center of gravity of the car being much less than in the case of the 6 conventional swing hanger wherein the laterals occur slightly above rail height. Accordingly, the imposed rolling moment is greatly reduced. Indeed, with the present truck the spring perch height may be varied to control the roll as desired.

Herein the vertical shock absorbers are shown as directly connecting the bolster to the wheel pieces, but if this should transmit high-frequency vibrations, the shock absorbers can be adjusted to leave a short length ofthe springs free, the absorber bridging only the remaining length of the spring movement.

With the present truck, not only is the tendency to roll and nose inhibited, but pitching is almost completely eliminated because there is no free mass mounted between spring sets as in the frame of the conventional truck. Herein the truck bolster cannot pitch since it bears at all times against the car bolster, and the frame is not spring supported.

While one embodiment of the invention has been specifically described for purposes of illustration, it is to be understood that there may be various changes and modifications within the general scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A railway car truck, comprising in combination, a frame formed of two reversely arranged offset rigid T-shaped units, each unit including a longitudinally extending side frame element, which forms the head of the T, and a transverse transom element, which forms the offset stem of the T, extending completely across the frame to the opposite side frame element, one transom element being disposed near each end of the frame leaving a considerable intermediate longitudinal space between transoms, turning connections having horizontal transverse axes retainably securing the end of each stem or transom element to the opposite side frame element, wheel axle units supporting the frame at the ends of the side frame elements beyond the transom elements, and means for resiliently supporting a car body on said frame.

2. A railway car truck, comprising in combination, a frame formed of two reversely arranged offset rigid T-shaped units, each unit including a longitudinally extending side frame element, which forms the head of the T, and a transverse transom element, which forms the offset stem of the T, extending completely across the frame to the opposite side frame element, one transom element being disposed near each end of the frame leaving a considerable intermediate longitudinal space be tween transoms, turning connections having horizontal transverse axes retainably securing the end of each stem or transom element to the opposite side frame element,

wheel-axle units supporting the frame at the ends of the side frame elements beyond the transom elements, brake disks carried by said wheel-axle units, means for resiliently supporting a car body on said frame, said transom extending parallel to a wheel-axle unit, and brake units mounted on said transom for braking action with said brake disks.

3. A railway car truck, comprising in combination, a frame formed of two reversely arranged offset rigid T-shaped units, each unit including a longitudinally extending side frame element, which forms the head of the T, and a transverse transom element, which forms the offset stem of the T, extending completely across the frame to the opposite side frame element, one transom element being disposed near each end of the frame leaving a considerable intermediate longitudinal space between transoms, turning connections having horizontal transverse axes retainably securing the end of each stem or transom element to the opposite side frame element, wheel-axle units supporting the frame at the ends of the side frame elements beyond the transom elements, and means for resiliently supporting a car body on said frame, said turning connections between the ends of the stems or transoms and the side frame elements including trans verse horizontal vshaft projections or journals extending 7 from the outer ends of the stems or transoms and bearin'gs the'refo'i surrounding said. journals, and resilient mdiintings for said be aring's-carriedhby the opposite sidr ffame; ele'xfient providing li'mitgd horizontal and. vertical movement. 5

Referenc es.Cited in the. file of, this patent UN I TA ES A E S 1,828,280 Buckius Oct. 20, 193-1 10 8 Hallquist Aug. 21, 1934 Jackson etal June 26, 1945 Haynes. Oct. 24, 1950 Eravilla Dec. 12, 1950 Mclntoshetal: Oct. 25, 1955 Russell Nov. 15, 1955 Ianeway, Apr. 3, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS Germany Aug. 19, 1938 

